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Alara teammates Tim Probert and Carlos Tesler-Mabe drive in a 2008 Mazda MX-5 Cup race. The series recently announced its new schedule. Photo by Todd McCall

2012 Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup season features top North American road courses

January 19, 2012

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SCCA Pro Racing, in conjunction with Mazda, announced the complete 2012 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup calendar on Friday. The 11-race season is spread out over eight weekends.

The series, which previously announced three events in conjunction with the American Le Mans Series at Sebring International Raceway (March 14-16), Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca (May 10-12) and the season finale at Road Atlanta (Oct. 17-19), added more top North American road courses to the schedule.

The MX-5 Cup will share two weekends with the Grand-Am Rolex Series in June, visiting Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (June 8-10) and Road America for the NASCAR Nationwide Series and Rolex Series weekend (June 22-23).

July sends the racing action north of the border to Mosport International Raceway, July 20-22, again with the ALMS.

September sees the series visiting both coasts. It returns Sept. 14-15 with the ALMS to Virginia International Raceway, a track that has hosted some of the closest races in series history.

A week later, for the first time, the Playboy MX-5 Cup will visit the Coronado Festival of Speed in San Diego, an airport circuit that traditionally hosts a vintage event during the San Diego Fleet Week on Naval Base Coronado. Fleet Week San Diego 2012 will take place Sept. 21-23.

“We listened to our racers and our fans as we developed the 2012 schedule,” said John Doonan, motorsports director, Mazda North American operations. “We love our traditional tracks like Mazda Raceway, Road America and Road Atlanta, and we wanted to find another way to get a new West Coast race into the schedule. And what better place to kick off the season than Sebring?

“We think this will be our best season yet, with new venues and new faces in the paddock. We are actively working on a new TV package for the year so even those fans that can’t get to a race can follow the action.”

2012 SCCA Pro Racing Playboy Mazda MX-5 Cup Schedule

March 14-16: Sebring International Raceway, with American Le Mans Series